Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #536

Hot Under The Collar? Police Say Man Used Flamethrower To Settle Parking Dispute
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Corbin Bolies
A Gainesville man angry over his neighbors’ park- ing habits sprayed fire from a commercial flamethrower toward a car with three teenagers inside, police said. No one was hurt.
Andre Abrams, 57, of Gainesville, is facing three counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intending to kill, according to court records. He posted a $15,000 bond last week and is awaiting a deci- sion whether prosecutors will
formally file crimi- nal charges.
The mother of one of the teens, Ashley Gainey, said Abrams fre- quently sprayed the flamethrower
to scare off guests at her home, 1006 NE 25th Terrace. Gainey’s daugh- ter, Nate’talya Baker, 16, fled the car with her friends as Abrams
continued to spray flames toward them, police said.
“ When he shoots it, it lights the whole road up,” Gainey said. “It’s
like it’s daylight outside. He’ll do it in the middle of the night.”
In his arrest report, police identified the weapon in the
Nov. 30 incident as an XM42 Lite Flamethrower, which shoots flames up to 20 feet and is manu- factured by X Products LLC of Vancouver, Washington. It sells for about $900 online.
“You’ve probably wondered if you can own a flamethrower, and guess what? You can!” the compa- ny said in a pro- motional video las t year. “No per- mits or licenses needed.” It said the devices are legal to buy and own in every state except Maryland or California.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine